Nina Alter · designer + maker + thinker + user

studio.bigwheel LLC San Francisco, CA
May 2007 - Present
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Sole Proprietorship, practicing User Experience Design: Information Architecture, Interaction Design, and Visual Design.
Spinning emotive, intuitive, and usable experiences for humans through device interfaces, online, and in print, since 1995.
Clients include: AKQA, Publicis Modem, Palm Inc., Spinn3r.

Survival Research Labs San Francisco, CA
July 2003 - Present
Contributing Artist, Builder, Production Manager, Machine Operator, "Crew"
Since it's inception in 1978, SRL has operated as an organization of creative technicians dedicated to re-directing the techniques, tools, and tenets of industry, science, and the military away from their typical manifestations in practicality, product, or warfare. Performances consist of a unique set of ritualized interactions between machines, robots, and special effects devices.

America Online Mountain View, CA
March 2004 - October 2004
Senior Visual Designer
Worked within a brand-new visual design group, formed in Mountain View to compliment the team in Dulles, VA. Our task was to create a fresh look/feel for AOL's forthcoming broadband products; AMP and YGP were the two products I lead design efforts on. 8 Months into the duration of the team, it was dissolved in a company re-org.

Creative Persuasion LLC. Berkeley, CA
February 2002 - August 2003
Art Director
Design lead for a boutique litigation-consulting firm. Responsible for developing materials to present information-dense arguments, case-facts, and narratives, in an absorptive fashion to median 8th-grade educated jurors. Additionally responsible for hiring, directing, and working with freelance creatives, and with creating Creative Persuasion's website.

O'Neill Inc.Santa Cruz, CA
January 1999 - October 2000
Senior Print Designer
Worked on all print, packaging, garment-graphics, and advertising needs for O'Neill sub-brands in the Snowboarding, Dive, and Women's Surf. Created all packaging and POP needs for Men's Surf, as well. Directed both domestic and overseas licensee companies in the development of their advertising and POP materials.

Fox Racing Inc. Morgan Hill, CA
March 1999 - August 1999
Senior Print Designer
Part of Fox Design Group, a 20+ person team of IDSA industrial designers, graphic designers, apparel designers, and a separate pre- and post-production film team. Worked semi-independently on all print design and advertising needs for Shift MX, Fox's sub-brand that specialized in "Freeride" motocross apparel.

*surface magazine San Francisco, CA
July 1995 - August 1996
Art Director
Brought on board to the skeleton-crew staff with their second color issue (yep, it used to be a black-and-white, uncoated tabloid!). Worked closely with the publishers and creative directors in re-directing the magazine to broaden readership internationally, and to target savvier and more educated domestic readers.

California College of Arts and Crafts _(sadly renamed to CCA) San Francisco, CA
Attended 1992-97, 2001; degree confirmed Fall 2001
BFA Graphic Design
Thesis: "Playing God: Surveillance and the Social Psyche," presented Spring 1996.
Awards: Inclusion of Senior Thesis in the 1997-8 Catalog, 1996 All College Honors, 1994-6 "Concept" juried show inclusion.

Technical Proficiencies
Online + Interactive
· Fluent in HTML, CSS, and ActionScript 1.0 (Flash). Java, DHTML, and AJAX familiar; always an eager co-conspirator with engineers
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· User-Centered Design & User Experience Design (yep, they're different) hybrid-practitioner and general fan-girl;
- what makes the user happy, makes the business happy!
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· Versed in Localization best-practices, Community best-practices, Accessibility best-practices, Copywriting for UI best-practices
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· Many years working with brands to connect customers to products, and to create memorable product experiences
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· Strong attention to typography & grid-systems as key design elements, and to information design as requisite cognition-candy
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· Team participant in multiple usability studies of all budgetary and practice varietals; frequent instigator of guerrilla-style informal
- usability testing, and a strong advocate of balancing design-vision with study-findings
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· Experience providing guidance & direction to outsourced agencies, direction & mentorship to jr. designers, helping business owners
- realize the competitive power of design, and daily walking the delicate line between speaking-up & listening-up
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· Versed in communicating design reqs to engineering teams in simple, comprehensive styleguides
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General Cubicle
Adobe CS products, fluent; Mac OSX, Apple devotee for 20+ years; Windows Vista, familiar and fearful; Windows XP, fluent; Microsoft Office, capable. Years of experience working with teams overseas. DOS language- formerly fluent, since forgotten. Unix and Linux- everyone asks...
so, nope, not a lick.

No end in sight for love affair with butcher paper, markers and Post-It notes!

The Crucible Oakland, CA
April 2008 - Present(ish)
Instructor in Youth Program workshops, Volunteer
The Crucible is a non-profit educational facility that fosters a collaboration of Arts, Industry and Community. Through training in the fine and industrial arts, The Crucible promotes creative expression, reuse of materials and innovative design while serving as an accessible arts venue for the public.

AIGA San Francisco, CA
2002 - 2005
Active on the San Francisco chapter's Events Committee. Worked collaboratively on event curation & planning, and day-of gettin' my hands dirty.
AIGA, the professional association for design, stimulates thinking about design, demonstrates the value of design and empowers the success of designers at each stage of their careers. AIGA’s mission is to advance designing as a professional craft, strategic tool and vital cultural force.

Professional Organizations
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IxDA · Interaction Design Association, SF Chapter.
BayCHI · Bay Area chaper of the ACM SIGCHI.
DorkBot · Guest curator. International organization of artists working with electronic media. Byline: "People doing strange things with electricity"
AWS · American Welding Society. I love to build things that work well & promote delight- so why limit the fun with building to ascii?